Selling Your Home: Cleaning Tips

If you are ready to sell your home, cleaning tips like these will entice prospective buyers to make an offer quickly.

There is so much advice about the best ways to get quick, full-priced offers on your home that you may not realize that cleaning your home is one of the most inexpensive ways to attract a prospective buyer. If you are ready to sell your home, cleaning tips like these may make the difference between a fast offer and months of no offers.

Before you worry about the home listing, documentation, and negotiations of your home sale, pay attention to the corners of your house. The first impression a propspective buyer has of your home dictates whether he or she will make an offer. That impression hinges on cleanliness.

Clear the slate

Step one is to remove furniture, clutter and personal items so you get a good look at the walls, floors and fixtures of your home. You may need to rent a storage unit or container for these items. If you have problem getting everything in order, hire a professional organizer to point you in the right direction. Remember, you want your home to look open and as large as possible. You may even remove all of the furniture so you can deep clean and then stage each room. Buyers are more likely to make an offer if they can visualize their things in the house. This is nearly impossible if every area is piled with your belongings.

Focus on the main living areas

Time to clean. Focus on the rooms buyers care most about first: the living room, kitchen, dining room and bathrooms. Professional cleaners suggest approaching a room from top to bottom, left to right, so you don't miss any surfaces. Make sure you have the right cleaner for each type of surface. Because many people are sensitive to the smell of cleaning agents, you may consider using natural cleaning agents. Some sell your home cleaning tips, like vacuuming, may seem obvious while others, like cleaning light fixtures, are often forgotten.

Here is a comprehensive list of cleaning tips

Clean ceilings, walls and the corners where they meet

Remove dust from ceiling fans blades and the light fixture

Wash light switches and wall molding (you may want to paint them as well)

Vacuum and shampoo carpets; sweep and mop floors

Wash windows, window sills and screens

In the kitchen and bathrooms, put extra focus on the places that fingerprints, food, grime and mildew gather.

Fronts and hardware of cupboards and drawers

Polish stainless steel appliances and fixtures

Inside drawers and cabinets

Around faucet handles and spouts

The caulking around the tub, shower and sinks

The floor around the toilet

Consider hiring a professional cleaning service

These extra cleaning steps may seem excessive, but they make a huge impression on buyers. Plus, you won't have the deep cleaning to do once you get an offer. Remember that after your initial cleaning you'll have to keep it up until your home sells. If you are simply too busy to perform the deep cleaning or the upkeep, hire a cleaning service to do the big job and then come in once a week for regular cleaning.

Home staging can create dramatic results in your home selling process. Homes that sell quickly are typically in good condition, inside and out. When you want to sell your home, cleaning tips like these make a huge difference. If you need another person's perspective, consider hiring a real estate listing agent. Real estate agents are accustomed to inspecting homes for things that you may overlook, yet a buyer would notice immediately.

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